BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: sb 454
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: corbett
VERSION: 4/2/13
Analysis by: Mark Stivers FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: April 9, 2013
SUBJECT:
Electric vehicle charging stations
DESCRIPTION:
This bill prohibits the provider of an electric vehicle charging
station from requiring a user to pay a subscription fee or
obtain membership in order to use the station and requires the
provider to accept payment via credit card or phone.
ANALYSIS:
In March of 2012, Governor Brown issued Executive Order
B-16-2012 requiring the California Air Resources Board, the
California Energy Commission, and the Public Utilities
Commission to establish benchmarks for the state's major
metropolitan areas to accommodate zero-emission vehicles by 2015
and for achieving 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on
California roads and easy access to zero-emission vehicle
infrastructure by 2025.
This bill prohibits the provider of an electric vehicle charging
station which requires payment of a fee from requiring a user to
pay a subscription fee or obtain membership in order to use the
station. The bill also:
Requires the provider to accept payment via credit card or via
telephone number or both.
Requires the provider to disclose to the public and the Energy
Commission the station's geographic location, accepted methods
of payment, and the amount of fees charged for network
roaming. The Energy Commission may provide this information
to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory or other
governmental entities for the purposes of compiling it and
providing the information to the public.
Allows the provider to impose network roaming charges for
non-members if those charges are disclosed as described in the
SB 454 (CORBETT) Page 2
previous bullet.
Requires the provider to label charging stations in accordance
with federal regulations and, where commercially reasonable
and feasible, clearly mark the way to the station with
appropriate directional signage.
Authorizes the Energy Commission after January 1, 2015, to
adopt interoperability billing standards for network roaming
payment methods for electric vehicle charging stations. If
the commission adopts such standards, all electric vehicle
charging stations which require payment must meet those
standards within one year.
Requires the Department of Consumer Affairs to maintain a
toll-free telephone number and e-mail to collect customer
complaints about electric vehicle charging stations and make a
summary of the complaints available to the public. The
department may also respond to the complaints.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose of the bill . According to the author, electric
vehicle charging stations are currently not as convenient as
gas stations. The public has access to only a few stations,
and these stations offer few payment options. Most charging
stations require a subscription or membership, forcing drivers
to buy several memberships and carry them in order to drive
longer distances. The author believes this bill will provide
the framework for electric vehicle charging stations to
operate similarly to gas stations, allowing drivers to use
their credit cards or phone to pay for charging. Facilitating
charging will assist the state in achieving its zero-emission
vehicle, greenhouse gas emission reduction, and air pollution
reduction goals, as well as reduce the state's dependence on
oil.
2.Arguments in opposition . Opponents support the concept of
easy access to electric vehicle charging stations, but believe
this bill creates an unfunded mandate that will
unintentionally dissuade people from deploying charging
infrastructure. They argue that government intervention and
control of foundational industry functions, like mapping and
open access, will add considerable cost. Further, mandates
that limit certain business models may be detrimental to the
financial stability of privately funded businesses. Lastly,
if the Energy Commission exercises the bill's authority to
adopt interoperability billing standards, pioneering charging
station companies will effectively be penalized with the costs
of retroactive compliance. In lieu of this bill, opponents
SB 454 (CORBETT) Page 3
believe that industry should develop its own interoperability
standards and station mapping and that public funding should
be used to support open access.
3.Collecting complaints . The bill requires the Department of
Consumer Affairs to collect customer complaints about electric
vehicle charging stations and make a summary of the complaints
available to the public. The bill also authorizes the
department to respond to complaints. If the department is to
report on complaints, those complaints must be legitimate.
The bill, however, includes no investigation requirement or
any due process protections for the business which is the
subject of a complaint. Moreover, it is not clear what the
authority to "respond to complaints" entails. Creating an
enforcement mechanism for the bill and a forum for addressing
customer complaints may be beneficial, but much more work is
required to flesh out the details of such a state role. In
the meantime, the committee may wish to consider deleting
these complaint provisions from the bill.
4.Technical amendments .
On page 3, strike lines 13-14 and insert a period
On page 4, line 1 after "spaces" insert "to customers"
On page 4, strike lines 2-4 and insert "and (3)
facilitate EV driver access to all electric vehicle
charging stations in public places."
On page 4, lines 20-21 strike "an electric motor for"
and insert "a plug-in battery to provide"
On page 4, line 24 strike "located together with" and
insert "served by"
On page 4, strike lines 28-31
On page 5, line 1 strike "underground or above-ground"
On page 5, lines 7-8 strike "connected to" and insert
"associate with"
On page 5, line 10 strike "customers"
On page 5, strike lines 12-13 and insert "ability of an
owner or lessor of a parking space whose primary business
is other than electric vehicle charging from restricting
use of the parking space to customers of the business."
On page 5, line 22 strike "out-of-network" and insert
"network roaming"
On page 5, line 23 strike ", pursuant to subdivision
(b)" and insert "at the point of sale"
On page 5, strike lines 24-30 and insert "vehicle
charging station that requires payment of a fee shall allow
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a person desiring to use the station to pay via credit card
or mobile technology, or both."
Strike lines 39-40 on page 5 and line 1 on page 6 and
insert "(b) The provider of an electric vehicle charging
station that is accessible to the public shall disclose to
the"
On page 6, line 3 after "location" insert ", a schedule
of fees,"
On page 6, line 5 strike "the amount of the fees",
strike lines 6-9, and in line 10 strike "roaming users" and
insert "and the amount of network roaming charges for
non-members, if any"
On page 6, line 11 strike "or" and insert ", to"
On page 6, line 12 after "entities" insert ", or to
software application developers"
On page 6, line 13 after the period insert "The
Commission may also release the information to the public
directly."
On page 6, lines 19-20 strike "subject to the
requirements of this section"
On page 6, line 26 after "interoperability" insert
"billing"
On page 6, line 30 after "commission" insert "shall
consider other governmental or industry-developed
interoperability billing standards and"
On page 6, line 33 after "email" insert ", or an
Internet website,"
On page 6, lines 34-35 strike "about electric vehicle
charging stations from electric vehicle owners or drivers."
and insert "regarding violations of this section."
On page 6, line 38 after "public" insert "annually"
1.Double referral . The Senate Rules Committee has referred this
bill to both this committee and the Energy, Utilities and
Communications Committee.
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, April 3,
2013.)
SUPPORT: Plug In America (sponsor)
Greenlots
UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation
OPPOSED: ChargePoint
ECOtality
SB 454 (CORBETT) Page 5